I am the Vegan Ronin. I travel the world, my knives my only companions. You will only know me by my trail of tofu.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tofu Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu, a fried pork cutlet, is a very popular dish in Japan. Imagine my surprise when I opened up The Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh and saw its fatty fried vegan twin staring back at me! You use freeze dried tofu (called "koyadofu") which gives it a nice texture when rehydrated. It even passed omni-monkey's taste test. It's a little work, but SO worth it!

2. In a saucepan use a large pan!!, combine the simmering sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Put in the drained koyadofu and simmer for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, until all the liquid is absorbed.

3. Dab the koyadofu in the dusting flour. Mix 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup of water to make a thick paste. Dip the floured koyadofu in the flour-and-water paste, then roll each cake int he bread crumbs. Set aside.

4. Heat the oil for deep-frying to 350F (180C). Slide the breaded tofu pieces into the oil in batches and deep-fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with shredded cabbage, lemon wedges, and tonkatsu sauce."

Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Here in the U.S., you can't get many Japanese vegan products. They have many different kinds of tofu but none are freeze dried. The Korean market in my neighborhood used to sell ready-made vegan donkatsu but it was extremely expensive and low in demand. Eventually they pulled it off. What do you suggest I use in place of freeze dried tofu?